Screen printing is ideal for producing large print runs, producing bold blocks of solid color in bold blocks. Although labor-intensive, its output looks fantastic.
Preparing the frame and screen is the first step of this process, which includes coating mesh with an emulsion before selectively exposing it to light via a stencil printed with your design.
How to Make Your Own Screen Silk Screen Press
Screen printing is a versatile technique used to print onto fabrics of any material with a Silk Screen Press. This makes it an excellent option for producing customized clothing and other products with multiple colors that require multiple inkjet prints; additionally, screen printing provides greater scope than digital printing alone when creating intricate designs.
Screen printing involves transferring a stencil design onto a mesh-based screen (ideally made of silk). After creating this template, ink is added and then applied directly onto the product surface before being pulled across by using a squeegee, leaving behind an imprint of your design on it.
Once the ink has been applied to the screen, it should be rinsed with high-pressure lukewarm water to remove the emulsion and use again. If using one screen for multiple projects, be sure to wash it between uses!
Once the ink has been washed away, it is vitally important that your work area is safeguarded. Squeegeeing and screen printing can leave sticky residue behind; to protect surfaces further it's advisable to cover your workspace with paper or cardboard sheets - additionally keep hands and tools clean so as to not transfer contaminants onto subsequent projects.
Before beginning printing, it's advisable to practice on scrap fabric or even an unneeded t-shirt that won't go towards your project. This will give you time to get acquainted with the process before starting on real work. Be careful when handling your screen - as its delicate nature should be handled with great caution.
Once you understand the process, it's time to create some exciting t-shirts and products! To begin, ensure your tee shirt is smooth before placing the screen over it with its recessed side facing up. Next, apply paint or ink onto the screen by running paint across it and dragging it across your shirt - taking care not to apply too much pressure as this may cause it to spill outside of the stencil and become visible.
How to Make a Screen
Screen printing requires creating an orderly and precise screen that meets high standards, and this step of the process should not be neglected or taken for granted. A poorly made screen is likely to present problems throughout, including humidity, temperature, aging emulsion and various screen types with various mesh counts and designs; every step must be followed closely and precisely or it could affect the outcome of your prints adversely.
The first step to creating a screen is selecting your design, followed by creating a stencil of that design on transparent acetate film to serve as a model for the screen. Next comes selecting the mesh screen that best matches both the complexity and texture of the fabric you are working with; once chosen it will be coated in photosensitive emulsion - there are different types available depending on your needs; Diazo is cheaper but requires longer exposure; SBQ doesn't need mixing but has shorter cure times while dual cure combines advantages from both Diazo and SBQ; dual cure combines the advantages of both Diazo and SBQ into a single solution!
Once the emulsion on your screen has been set, it will be ready for exposure. Simply place a piece of clean glass over its image and set it under a 150-watt light for an allotted period depending on which emulsion you are using. After exposure has occurred, hardening will occur leaving a stencil of your design visible on the screen.
Once your screen is prepared, it will be lowered onto fabric or other materials you are working with and inked using a squeegee. Any open areas in your stencil must also be covered before inking can begin on the fabric below. For multiple-colored garment printing projects, an additional screen and stencil may need to be positioned per color of the design if more than one color will be printed simultaneously on one garment; after every print job, however, its screen must be washed to remove any trace emulsion before reuse before it can be reused again in future prints.
How to Make a Stencil
One of the key components of screen printing is creating your stencil. Without access to a stencil machine, cutting your own can be accomplished using a sharp knife and piece of acetate as the positive image and cutting around it as negative space that will be printed onto fabric. Alternatives exist using paper but using acetate will make cleanup and reuse much simpler.
To create a stencil, the first step should be finding a design you wish to print out. There are plenty of places online where you can find suitable artwork but be wary that copyright restrictions may restrict its use. When you find an ideal piece, print it onto plain paper - this will serve as your template when cutting out the stencil later on. If your plan involves multiple color printing with this stencil design, consider including an alignment guide in your design to help ensure all plates will line up precisely when ink is applied to the fabric.
When cutting out a stencil, it's best to start with the longest and simplest lines first in order to minimize bleeding or not cutting well when moving on to more intricate parts of the design. Letter-based stencils may present additional difficulty due to small circles used to connect letters together - if this proves challenging for you, try painting over these details with extra paint so as to cover any lines left by cutting.
When ready to print, a stencil should be placed over a garment and ink added over it using a squeegee. After drying has occurred, the screen is taken back outside and washed in order to remove any unhardened emulsion that might prevent new prints from being made on this stencil. Any leftover emulsion will then be reused to create another stencil.
How to Print
Screen printing's final step involves imprinting designs onto garments. After creating a stencil, the screen is coated with light-reactive emulsion; available options include Diazo and SBQ products - each requires its own exposure/cure time for optimal printing jobs.
Once the emulsion has dried, it's ready for use. A production worker applies their desired color onto an object to be decorated and uses a squeegee to push it through a screen. Thanks to its non-porous surface and protective emulsion layer, printing ink won't pass through areas not covered by stencils or black ink on screens; only printed areas will remain exposed - which makes this method so efficient at reproducing complex, HD images.
Screen printing requires the use of various ink types; choosing one depends on what fabric will be printed upon. Plastisol ink is one such popular option that works on most fabrics due to being plastic-based and sitting on the surface rather than seeping into fibers like water-based inks do. Plastisol provides greater coverage on dark-colored garments due to being thick and stiff when it dries; however it may feel thick and sticky at first touch on certain fabrics.
Discharge ink is another widely used type of ink, ideal for printing white or very light-colored designs onto dark garments. While not all fabrics can be discharged, so testing each color before committing to larger runs is key to ensure they work successfully and last as intended. Furthermore, proper exposure and preparation of screens before use with discharge inks is crucial due to their short pot life.
Specialty inks can also be used on more specific materials, like duct tape and nylon. These inks are often used when printing industrial and safety apparel as they're resistant to heat and chemicals. When printing with specialty inks such as these it is recommended that fabric be pretreated with an appropriate chemical solution so the ink adheres more securely with fabric, thus helping it resist fading over time and washing off altogether.